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Yeah I didn't have a car for a while, I didn't get a job back in 2015 or so for PHP because of that ha. First in office web developer job after restaurant, I ha

Yeah I didn't have a car for a while, I didn't get a job back in 2015 or so for PHP because of that ha. First in office web developer job after restaurant, I had to bike 30 miles a day lol [1] round trip, that was brutal. On the plus side, 3 hrs of podcasts. I listened to the book Eccentric Orbits then that was good. Uber was like $60/day so yeah... although I only made it 4 days straight, never 5 days of bike riding so I would eat the Uber cost one day. I was lucky that friend loaned me $3K to get a car(opportunity). But I bought a bad car/sunk money into it(had to fix). I would bike home from the factory pitch black road at night(dumb) listening to Changelog haha good times. [1] https://i.imgur.com/cOZWquX.png https://i.imgur.com/cOZWquX.png

rorykoehler 6y ago
OT Graeme Obree biked 60 miles round trip for work. Due to the fitness gained he was able to come out of nowhere to break the hour record in cycling on a bike he built himself out of miscellaneous parts from things like washing machines.
- q845712 6y ago
  that's super badass, but my recollection of having a commute slightly over 30 miles roundtrip is that it was thoroughly exhausting. Or in other words, the same difficult circumstances that inspire one person to remarkable success will still grind many other people down. We can all aspire to be great, be by definition most of us will hew pretty close to average for our circumstances. I think this thread is pointing out how difficult some circumstances can be, which doesn't need to discount the possibility for someone to transcend them, but you're pointing out an outlier in a discussion about median results.
  - rorykoehler 6y ago
    It’s why I prepended off topic on the post. There is no way I could do that day in day out and I’m faster than average on a bike.
  - imtringued 6y ago
    Would an electric bike close the gap? It's not as expensive as a car. It's also better for the environment and your body. A $3k car might sound like a better deal than a $3k bike but then you'd have to pay for fuel and maintenance.
    - ip26 6y ago
      If we're talking broke, we're talking $1k cars and $100-200 bicycles. My first car was $800 and I bought a few motorcycles over the years for around $400 each.
      - scruple 6y ago
        Yeah. My first car in 1996 was a Buick Century that I got for $1,000. My brother had this shitty mid-80s 2-door Pontiac Sunbird that he got for like $600 in 91 when he graduated from high school. I kept that Buick in service until 2001 when I enlisted, I don't know what happened to it after that. I got a 94 Ford Ranger, around 2003, when I needed a car again and was making some better money for around $4,000. I sold that truck to an old colleague in 2009 (he still has it today) and got a used Scion xB for $6,000, which I till have today. It blew me away when I got that Scion. It was a steal of a deal. I was looking at used, late 90s model Civics at the time, because I needed a commuter that could do 50 miles one way with decent MPG and with something I knew that I could keep on the road, and those cars held their value so well into the late 2000s that it blew me away. People were asking $3,000-$4,000 for them with 150k-200k miles. Today, I make something crazy like about 15x what I made in 1996, but I still have that Scion. I plan to keep it on the road for another 11 years. After all, it's a Toyota and it's given me no trouble at 150k miles. It goes to the shop for tires, everything else I handle in my garage. It's a commuter for my wife that goes about 5 miles one way these days. My neighbors comment on it all of the time. They think it's an unsightly beater sitting in front of our ludicrously expensive homes. I thought about selling it for a while but their shitty attitudes have convinced me to keep it around.
        dkn775 6y ago
        Those xB were really a great car and practical. I still remember those Scion meetups they would have where they encouraged an active aftermarket community. For their odd design it has aged well. I still see a lot on the road, I think you'll have no problem getting it to last that long.
- jcun4128 6y ago
  I did read this when it was first posted, I've been working on/off since then ha(wrecked sleep pattern). Was trying not to flood/chain responses. There are many examples of people overcoming crazy challenges, makes for a nice story but also having a regular/"painless" life is also nice. I did not enjoy riding the Walmart bike that far/many hours. It was nice though the nature aspect. I still think I am being lazy, not trying hard enough, about being an entrepreneur like did I really try... not drop shipping but building some service. I keep thinking is what I do worth it if it doesn't make money since that's my primary concern right now is getting out. (not be worried if I lose my job) I gotta stop responding haha, wish I could condense my previous posts. edit: clarification, the car was a bad buy(not a car guy) it was just under $2K so I had a buffer but it was partially broken... so I had to drop money on it.
  - rorykoehler 6y ago
    It was off topic and in no way was I suggesting you should try keep riding. I’ve done only 30km round trip on a good bike and it was exhausting having to do it even though I would happily do it in my free time.
    - jcun4128 6y ago
      Yeah mostly it took too long for me my crappy bike ha, 1.5hrs each way sucked. Although it could be nice/ideal with regard to being healthy.

rorykoehler 6y ago

OT Graeme Obree biked 60 miles round trip for work. Due to the fitness gained he was able to come out of nowhere to break the hour record in cycling on a bike he built himself out of miscellaneous parts from things like washing machines.

q845712 6y ago
that's super badass, but my recollection of having a commute slightly over 30 miles roundtrip is that it was thoroughly exhausting. Or in other words, the same difficult circumstances that inspire one person to remarkable success will still grind many other people down. We can all aspire to be great, be by definition most of us will hew pretty close to average for our circumstances. I think this thread is pointing out how difficult some circumstances can be, which doesn't need to discount the possibility for someone to transcend them, but you're pointing out an outlier in a discussion about median results.
- rorykoehler 6y ago
  It’s why I prepended off topic on the post. There is no way I could do that day in day out and I’m faster than average on a bike.
- imtringued 6y ago
  Would an electric bike close the gap? It's not as expensive as a car. It's also better for the environment and your body. A $3k car might sound like a better deal than a $3k bike but then you'd have to pay for fuel and maintenance.
  - ip26 6y ago
    If we're talking broke, we're talking $1k cars and $100-200 bicycles. My first car was $800 and I bought a few motorcycles over the years for around $400 each.
    - scruple 6y ago
      Yeah. My first car in 1996 was a Buick Century that I got for $1,000. My brother had this shitty mid-80s 2-door Pontiac Sunbird that he got for like $600 in 91 when he graduated from high school. I kept that Buick in service until 2001 when I enlisted, I don't know what happened to it after that. I got a 94 Ford Ranger, around 2003, when I needed a car again and was making some better money for around $4,000. I sold that truck to an old colleague in 2009 (he still has it today) and got a used Scion xB for $6,000, which I till have today. It blew me away when I got that Scion. It was a steal of a deal. I was looking at used, late 90s model Civics at the time, because I needed a commuter that could do 50 miles one way with decent MPG and with something I knew that I could keep on the road, and those cars held their value so well into the late 2000s that it blew me away. People were asking $3,000-$4,000 for them with 150k-200k miles. Today, I make something crazy like about 15x what I made in 1996, but I still have that Scion. I plan to keep it on the road for another 11 years. After all, it's a Toyota and it's given me no trouble at 150k miles. It goes to the shop for tires, everything else I handle in my garage. It's a commuter for my wife that goes about 5 miles one way these days. My neighbors comment on it all of the time. They think it's an unsightly beater sitting in front of our ludicrously expensive homes. I thought about selling it for a while but their shitty attitudes have convinced me to keep it around.
      - dkn775 6y ago
        Those xB were really a great car and practical. I still remember those Scion meetups they would have where they encouraged an active aftermarket community. For their odd design it has aged well. I still see a lot on the road, I think you'll have no problem getting it to last that long.
jcun4128 6y ago
I did read this when it was first posted, I've been working on/off since then ha(wrecked sleep pattern). Was trying not to flood/chain responses. There are many examples of people overcoming crazy challenges, makes for a nice story but also having a regular/"painless" life is also nice. I did not enjoy riding the Walmart bike that far/many hours. It was nice though the nature aspect. I still think I am being lazy, not trying hard enough, about being an entrepreneur like did I really try... not drop shipping but building some service. I keep thinking is what I do worth it if it doesn't make money since that's my primary concern right now is getting out. (not be worried if I lose my job) I gotta stop responding haha, wish I could condense my previous posts. edit: clarification, the car was a bad buy(not a car guy) it was just under $2K so I had a buffer but it was partially broken... so I had to drop money on it.
- rorykoehler 6y ago
  It was off topic and in no way was I suggesting you should try keep riding. I’ve done only 30km round trip on a good bike and it was exhausting having to do it even though I would happily do it in my free time.
  - jcun4128 6y ago
    Yeah mostly it took too long for me my crappy bike ha, 1.5hrs each way sucked. Although it could be nice/ideal with regard to being healthy.